


would you be glad to see manhattan for once?

by smol_avengers



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve doesn't really wanna be captain America, Time Travel, steve misses bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:48:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22672021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smol_avengers/pseuds/smol_avengers
Summary: When it's too much to be the one everyone looks up to, where do you turn?In which the real reason Steve went back to the '40s was to see Bucky, just once more.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	would you be glad to see manhattan for once?

**Author's Note:**

> JESUS CHRIST I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO POST AGAINnNNNnNNNnN  
> so, for the longest time I cOulD NOT poSt. Thankfully I figured it out so here's a smol Bucky/Steve drabble because I'm still sad about the Endgame ending.

Going back in time isn't as hard as it seems.

Cap slides into different timelines, slips the stones back into place, and leaves. He tries to ignore ol' Stupid Skull on Vormir, prays he doesn't know anyone at the bottom of that cliff. He fights before he should even be alive, fights in dimensions and planets and- everywhere. Captain America is tending to the universe, keeping it in order, and he doesn't quite know how he feels about that. 

He's never felt more like the man he's supposed to be, and it's getting exhausting. 

Finally, when he has one Pym Particle left and he's drained of all energy, he's back in New York. It's surprising how much it feels like home. NY changes and grows and becomes louder, but at the end of the day, he's lived here forever. 

He hands the stone to Ancient One, looking into her eyes as he does so. This is it. He's done it. The soldier has won again, Captain America done with another mission.

He's surprised how sad he feels. Surprised how much he misses - what?

The Avengers? Sam? 2023?

Ancient One smiles. "Where are you going now?" she asks, and her voice is soft like she knows what's running through Cap's head. 

He misses-

He misses home.

He misses his ma. He misses Peggy.

He misses Bucky.

And of course, he's thinking crazy again. Bucky is right there, right when he gets back to 2023. Bucky's _there_. He's fine. He has a metal arm and a new affinity for knives, but he's fine. 

Except... he's not, really. Hydra broke something in him that's just a little too far to reach, just a little distance in the eyes and a little blankness in the smile. Shuri can fix him all she wants, but he's not the Bucky that _Steve_ knows. Not Captain America. _Steve._ And Steve misses the old Bucky, and he misses himself, the person he was before. 

Maybe that's selfish. But Steve's so, so tired. He's too tired to care.

He looks around. He takes the city in, New York that's new but not. He's terrified and he's _homesick._ He's been homesick since he woke up from the ice. Homesick for his old life, where stars and stripes were infinitely simpler. Sure, he was fighting Nazis, but at least he wasn't fighting giant purple grapes who liked massacres. 

Steve takes a deep breath, and he makes a choice.

"Home," he says, and the Ancient One nods in agreement. It's all the confirmation he needs.

He snaps the Pym Particle. He closes his eyes. 

______________

Steve Rogers opens his eyes.

The tent he's in is dark green. Syrupy light streams in through the chinks. The cot he's sitting on is scratchy. He's still Captain, but -

_But-_

The tent flap opens. 

Bucky Barnes grins at him (no blankness whatsoever). "Hey punk, whattaya doin' in here?" he says, striding inside.

Steve stares at him like he's the best thing he's ever seen. "J-Just sittin' out the war," he says back, tryin’ to be smooth, wishing Bucky would _laugh laugh laugh-_

Bucky laughs. There's no blankness. No Hydra. No Winter Soldier. 

Steve blinks back tears. He's back. Bucky's back. He's _missed_ this. 

He's gonna be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This is short but it popped into my head and I wanted to write it down. Hope you liked it!
> 
> Also! The title for this fic is from Life In The City by The Lumineers, it's a really pretty song so go listen to it (^▽^)


End file.
